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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;stldanceartist, post: 1262181, member: 13307&quot;]This has been an interesting read, to say the least.</p><p><br /></p><p>My question would be this: why exactly did you choose a coin shop as your investment business of choice?&nbsp; I think the answer to your original question has a lot to do with this second answer.</p><p><br /></p><p>I am not a coin dealer.&nbsp; I have, however, worked at coin shops, auctions, and flea markets off and on for over 25 years - so that probably gets me about 5% of the knowledge required to run a coin shop.&nbsp; I can say without a doubt, however, that if you are serious you should do this:</p><p><br /></p><p>Listen to warnings given by people who have ventured down the path you are about to take.&nbsp; I feel like a great many of these posts here have been overwhelmingly negative for varying reasons.&nbsp; I can&#039;t pretend to know everyone&#039;s motivation for their replies, but I know mine.&nbsp; As a teacher, I enjoy helping people.&nbsp; So I&#039;ll be straight with you, as much as I know how to do.</p><p><br /></p><p>Coin collecting (for the fun of it) as a hobby can be very, very competitive.&nbsp; Maybe in a friendly way, but frequently in a &quot;I am a hunter armed with certain weapons, and I will do my absolute best to cherry-pick whoever I can to the fullest extent possible.&quot; kind of way.&nbsp; There are people out there who know their stuff - and won&#039;t say a word of this knowledge to you (as the coin dealer.)&nbsp; They will buy your rare variety for $20 and smile the entire time in the friendliest manner.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>There are those that know a little about coins, and they will come to YOU for knowledge and recommendations.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then there are others who will do everything they can to steal from you.&nbsp; I&#039;ve met some really friendly folks at auctions...only to have the auctioneer point them out to me later as someone they have actually caught stealing from them.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then there are the people who know absolutely nothing about coins.&nbsp; They will probably buy whatever you tell them to buy.&nbsp; I&#039;ve seen people like this with TONS of money at auctions, paying twice book value for some easy to find commemorative coin that I could walk into every coin shop on any given day and buy for less than book value.&nbsp; Don&#039;t be like these people.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are some of the people you will be dealing with as customers.&nbsp; If you are less prepared than they are...you WILL lose your opportunities for profits.&nbsp; If you&#039;re getting into coins for profit, I&#039;d suggest advertising yourself like one of those &quot;we&#039;ll buy your old silver coins&quot; kind of people.&nbsp; As long as you keep track of all your expenses, inventory, and buy/sell ratios...you should make some money.&nbsp; Not as much, but there is money to be made.&nbsp; Which is why I run across so many of these guys around town - in person, on Craigslst, on eBay. The problem with them is that they are only concerned with the opportunity to make money off of people&#039;s ignorance.&nbsp; Please don&#039;t behave like this.</p><p><br /></p><p>Surround yourself with intelligent people that you TRUST.&nbsp; Reward them for doing excellent work.&nbsp; Get rid of the people you are in ANY way wary of - because they could fill a gym bag with silver / gold coins (that you&#039;d never know was missing if you didn&#039;t keep good inventory accounts) and walk off with $100,000 worth of coins in one go.&nbsp; So: be organized.&nbsp; Be smart about who you hire. Keep good records.&nbsp; Watch everyone that works for you, even once you trust them.&nbsp; Prime example: which famous coin collector was caught either stealing or switching out people&#039;s coins for less expensive versions?&nbsp; Can&#039;t remember...but this person was a TRUSTED and highly respected numismatist.&nbsp; So be prepared to be really, really thorough.</p><p><br /></p><p>Keep in mind that asking other local coin dealers for help is like going to Best Buy and asking the manager &quot;Hey, how do I start up a retail electronics store right next to you that will compete with you for business?&quot;&nbsp; I agree that the best way to learn is by doing...but unless you find someone actually willing to show you the ropes...well, it&#039;s like someone said earlier, it&#039;s a tight-knit group.&nbsp; (It seems to be the same with the auctioneers I&#039;ve known - they would absolutely ignore a young auctioneer who was just starting out, because he was now a competitor.)</p><p><br /></p><p>Deal with people in a way you&#039;d want to be dealt with.&nbsp; Be fair.&nbsp; Be honest.&nbsp; Don&#039;t rip people off.&nbsp; Yes, make money...but do it in a way so that you can sleep at night.</p><p><br /></p><p>I agree with the advice given about educating yourself.&nbsp; Unfortunately, it&#039;s not an overnight thing.&nbsp; I&#039;ve been collecting for most of my life, off and on, and there is still SO much I just have no idea about.&nbsp; I can sort through a bag of silver US or Foreign coins and pull out the ones that should be sold for more than melt...but as far as determining really good Chinese fakes, or identifying tokens...yikes.&nbsp; Paper money is an entirely different animal.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>In other words, there have been a lot of negative posts.&nbsp; I think the primary reason is that you came across as being in a position of &quot;starting from scratch&quot; in your knowledge of coins/paper/tokens/pm.&nbsp; There is a HUGE amount of information here for you to learn.&nbsp; Yes, it is possible if you are determined and capable.&nbsp; But it will seem overwhelming once you dive in.&nbsp; If this is because you or your friend is interested in coins, and would love to do that for a living - then it won&#039;t seem like work.&nbsp; But if it&#039;s just for the money...</p><p><br /></p><p>My advice, what they used to tell us in the Navy: <b>K</b>eep <b>I</b>t <b>S</b>imple, <b>S</b>tupid.&nbsp; I&#039;m not calling you stupid, but, to be honest, if you&#039;re starting from scratch, you are relatively stupid (I hope you get what I mean here) compared to the people you will deal with on a daily basis.&nbsp; Don&#039;t go spending all your money on graded key date coins, errors, varieties...until you know what you&#039;re doing, at least, in some way.&nbsp; READ a LOT.&nbsp; Buy coins based on prices that you will be guaranteed to make money.&nbsp; Get some good people to pick out the good stuff.&nbsp; Learn for yourself what the good stuff is.&nbsp; Learn what REALLY good stuff is (it&#039;s not that easy to find.)&nbsp; I&#039;ve made money on coins in my lifetime.&nbsp; It can happen.&nbsp; But it&#039;s not as easy as it may look.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>If I had a substantial amount of money, I wouldn&#039;t even start a coin business.&nbsp; I&#039;d build a country estate that would house foster kids and abandoned pets and administer that...but if I had to start a coin business, the &quot;coin/gold/jewelry buyer&quot; route is the way I&#039;d go, at least for about 10-15 years.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>This has been my two cents worth.&nbsp; Hope it made some bit of sense.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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